The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-03-03
SHALL FIRST COUSINS MARRvs
II They Have No Hcritabie Weakness,
Yes.


Yes.
The question OF the effects of consan-
guinity is one of those vexed problems
on which much evidence has been col
lected pro and con. The observations
have been made by careful observers,
and the most probable explanation OF
the diversity of the results reached is
that other circumstances have in some
cases cancelled the bad effects of too
close interbeeeding and in other cases
brought them into prominence. A
very fair consideration of the problem
is given by DIR. G. L. Shuttleworth in
The Journal Of Mental Science for 90
tober, 1886.
The common misgiving as to the pro-
prety of cousin marriages is of rather
recent origin. In ancient times mar
riages of near kin were not forbidden.
The first prohib ton Of them is in the
fourth century A. d. The church soon
came to cast its odium on marriages
even of the seventh degree of relation
ship and the fees for removal OF such
objections by dispensation were an i'm
portant source of revenue. This has
undoubtedly influenced popular opini on
on the question.
From the physicians point of view
the evidence from the animal world is
very important Here there is almost
consensus that, while the effect OF
'.ln-and-in breeding is to intensity
points, in the long run it is opposed to
vigor of constitution. 1t is to be re-
membered that every breeder takes
care to exclude any animals with any
known morbid tendency, while, ON the
contrary, in the genus homo, rs Or.
Clauston remarks, there seems to be "a
special tendency for members OF neu-
rotic families TO intermarry. The re-
suit of this will be that in some portions
of the population the oilSpr ng OF such
marriages will show the evil results OF
il to an unusual extent. And thus we
find in rural, and especially in noun
famous districts, where the population
is small and mixed, the comparative
amount of idocy is greater than else
where. Statistical information is in
adequate on the subject; the motion to
include it in the census returns OF Eng
land was rejected "amid the scornful
laughter of the house, on the ground
that the idle curiosity of speculative
philosophers was not TO be gratiiicd.
In France the returns have given rise
TO various estimate (varying from 9-lO
to % or per cent? of the frequency
of consanguineous marriages. Mr.. q.
Ii. Darwin came to the conclusion that
in London u per cent. OF all marriages
were between first cousins, in urban
districts per cent, and in rural diS'
tricts q per cent.
II now, we ascertain the ratio OF
idiots and insane patients that are the
offspring of such marriages to the total
number of patients in the asylums, we
will have some means of estimating the
results of consanguinity. From quite
an extended series of records, it is con-
cluded that the ratio just referred to In
the idiot asylums is from to b per
cent; hence ''iirst-cousin marriages, at
any rate, are to some extent favorable
to the production of idiot children.
But this conclusion must DO tempered
| by the consideration that IN large
number of such cases of idiocy and inn
becility other causes for this condition
are present; and this consideration
leads DIR. A. Mitchell to the opinion
that under favorable tons. of life
the apparent i'll effects of consanguin-
eous marriages were frequently almost
nil, while, if the children were ill-fed.
badly housed and clothed, the evil
might become very marked" From
such facts and figures we may conclude
that lirst-cousn marriages should, as a
rule. be discouraged; but that; if close
scrutiny reveals no hertable weakness,
neurotic or otherwise, the banns need
not invariably be forbidden.